Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, right, with (from right to left) teammates Austin Corbett,, Austin Blythe and David Edwards, is valued for his leadership skills as well as his work in the trenches. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Andrew Whitworth has been a pillar of the Rams’ offensive line for three years. He’ll be football’s answer to an ancient Roman column if he lasts three more.

That’s what Whitworth seems to have in mind after signing a new contract with the Rams that would pay the left tackle $30 million if he’s still upright in the 2022 season, when he’ll turn 41.

Although it’s the richest contract ever for a non-quarterback over 35, essentially only the first year and $12.5 million of the three-year deal are guaranteed, protecting the team in case his desire or performance crumbles.

He’s taking it one season at a time, he said Thursday in a video chat with reporters.

“I think, for veteran players, it’s (a question of) can you make it through an offseason of really building your body up and all the training and intensity it takes to get to the football season,” Whitworth said. “That’s the toughest part for most guys, offseason and training camp.”

Which presented a problem when it became clear to Whitworth a month ago that restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic could prevent working out in a gym or the Rams’ facility in Thousand Oaks.

Whitworth, his wife Melissa and their four children responded by moving two cars cars out of the garage at their Westlake Village home and making a family project of building a weight room.

“It basically looks like the Rams facility,” he said. “The only trouble is she wants to know what I’m going to do with all of it when things go back to normal. I’ve got to figure that one out. Other than that, we’re good.”

Even in a normal offseason, Whitworth’s workouts are legendary, featuring intense training at altitude during an annual family trip to Wolcott, Colorado. He said he doesn’t know yet if he’ll get to Colorado this year.

Whitworth spoke via Zoom from the golf course at Lake Sherwood, a putter slung over his shoulder. A white cap protected his shaved head from the sun. His gray beard looked fuller than usual.

The 2020 season will be his 15th in the NFL. He was first-team All-Pro once with the Cincinnati Bengals and once, in 2017, with the Rams, and was voted one of the league’s top 100 players by his peers in the summers of 2018 and 2019. Last season, going on 38, he was the only offensive lineman to start all 16 games for the 9-7 Rams.

Although his agent talked with other teams at the NFL scouting combine in February, Whitworth never considered leaving the Rams. The contract he agreed to March 18, and signed Wednesday, pays him less than the $33.75 million ($15 million guaranteed) in the three-year deal that brought him to L.A. as a free agent.

“Once I got the OK from the family and everybody else that we were going to play football again, there was nowhere I’d want to be but here,” Whitworth said.

The 6-foot-7, 330-pound tackle is as valuable for his mentorship of young teammates as for his physical gifts. It’s a switch from when Whitworth was a young Bengal and physicality was all he knew.

“I’m involved in guys’ lives and their success as a person, how they can feel good about themselves and how they do,” Whitworth said.

Last month, Whitworth and quarterback Jared Goff each donated $250,000 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, kicking off a telethon hosted by the Rams and KABC TV that raised $2.2 million for coronavirus pandemic relief.

“It’s cool to see moments like that, for a kid like (Goff) to make his first big contribution to his community and to be part of it,” Whitworth said. “That’s the sort of thing I cherish now.”

A senior at LSU when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, Whitworth has a well-developed sense of community.

“I think the absolute necessity is for athletes to step up in those times and make sure they support people who make it possible for them to have a job,” he said of helping the public.

Once the Rams’ preparations for a new season in a new stadium begin — to be determined by the NFL — Whitworth will refocus his leadership on an offensive line whose roster is unchanged but whose lineup is unsettled.

Austin Blythe also re-signed and is experienced at either guard position and center, where he finished 2019. Right tackle Rob Havenstein is back from an injury but could face a battle for the job with Bobby Evans.

For the rest of the line, the optimistic view is that Austin Corbett and Joe Noteboom at left guard, David Edwards at right guard and Brian Allen at center all gained valuable experience.

“Considering at one point (in 2019) we had three guys who’d never played in the National Football League starting, that’s a heck of a challenge,” Whitworth said. “I think there’s a lot to build off.

Kevin Modesti is a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News and the Southern California News Group, covering Rams football and other sports. An L.A. native, he has been a sports writer, columnist and editor, an editorial board member, writer and editor in the Opinion section, and a political reporter. He lives in the San Fernando Valley.

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